Beware the trap! Golf's toughest stretches of holes

February 23, 2017

As players prepare to take on the Honda Classic's notorious Bear Trap, NCG rounds up golf's toughest stretches...

As the Florida swing gets underway at this week’s Honda Classic and players take on the notorious Bear Trap, National Club Golfer got to thinking about the toughest stretches of holes that the pros have to take on.

Check them out in the gallery below…

PGA National – Holes 15-17

Named after Jack Nicklaus, who redesigned the course, PGA National’s stretch from 15 to 17 is known as the “Bear Trap”. On paper, two par 3s at under 200 yards and a moderate-length par 4 don’t seem too scary, but tell that to the players. Last year, four PGA National holes ranked in the 20 hardest holes for the season.

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PGA National – Holes 15-17

Adam Scott played the “Bear Trap” in a total of one over par at last year’s Honda Classic en route to lifting the title.

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Augusta National – Holes 11-13

Coined by Sports Illustrated writer Herbert Warren Wind, Amen Corner is the most famous stretch in golf. Holes 11 and 12 regularly rank as the toughest at the Masters, while the accuracy needed at 13 makes it one of the most important shots of the week for the pros.

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Augusta National – Holes 11-13

Jordan Spieth led the 2016 Masters by five shots when he reached the back nine on Sunday. A quadraple-bogey at 12 cost him his challenge and his green jacket.

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Muirfield – Holes 14-16

When Muirfield last hosted the Open, in 2013, seven of the hardest 20 holes in golf that year came from the Gullane track. The stretch from 14 to 16 was particularly unforgiving, racking up an average of 1.116 over par.

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Muirfield – Holes 14-16

The challenges from the likes of Zach Johnson fell away at the 2013 Open as Phil Mickelson was the only player to finish under par.

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Pebble Beach – 7-10

And if you’re lucky, you might get wet…

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Carnoustie – 16-18

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Carnoustie – 16-18

And we don’t need to remind you what happened to Jean van de Velde in 1999 (but we will).

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TPC Sawgrass – Holes 16-18

While the 16th’s defence has been weakened in recent years by advances in technology, it just lulls players into a false sense of security. The par-3, island-green 17th is one of the best-known holes in golf, while the 18th has actually proved tougher at the last three Players Championships.

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TPC Sawgrass – Holes 16-18

Even Tiger Woods doesn’t have his own way there all the time…

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Does your course, or a course you’ve played, have a particularly tough stretch of holes? If so, we’d love to hear about it. You can either tell us in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Alternatively, you can tweet us.